A rabbi booked into Broward jail had to hand over his head covering. Now he’s suing.

Rabbi Berl Zwiebel got a ride in a deputy’s car to the Broward County Jail. He was under arrest on a warrant from a traffic ticket.

He had to remove his belt. He had to take off one of two shirts.

Then he had to put his religious skullcap in a paper bag.

“The yarmulke is going to have to go in here as well, sir,” a Broward sheriff’s deputy told the Orthodox Jewish man.

“A yarmulke is something that has to be on the head,” the observant Zwiebel told the deputy.

The deputy’s reply: “Unfortunately in here they are not going to allow you to.”

That was in April 2019.

Zwiebel is now suing the Broward Sheriff’s Office in federal court, saying he was denied the ability to practice his religion. The suit, first reported by WPLG-Local 10, demands that the court intervene and stop BSO from forcing inmates to remove religious apparel. It also asks for costs and attorneys’ fees and punitive damages.

Kristen Montgomery, who filed the suit naming Sheriff Gregory Tony in August on Zwiebel’s behalf, said her client’s constitutional rights were violated when he was stripped of his head covering.

“A government agency like BSO cannot infringe on your constitutional rights,” Montgomery said. “If you wanted to see if the yarmulke presents a security risk, why don’t you just pat it down or lift it up and see if there is anything under it. Why do you have to take it away and keep it away from him?”

Montgomery said making the matter worse: Zwiebel was arrested a second time for the same offense in October 2021, after the suit was filed, and the same thing happened again.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office does not comment on pending litigation, but shared the department’s policy: “All head coverings (hats, scarves, stocking caps, etc.) must be removed for security screening purposes. Religious head coverings will be searched by a deputy of the same sex out of sight of the public (i.e., in a restroom or behind a partition). At no time will head coverings other than approved religious apparel be allowed within the secure confines of a BSO detention facility.”

The policy also says that “Inmates will be allowed to wear approved liturgical apparel in their cell, dayroom, and to and from religious services. Approved religious items or apparel identified as presenting a security risk will be used in areas designated by the facility commander. The facility commander will provide storage for these items.”

An inmate guide on the sheriff’s office website from 2019 says that inmates must get permission from the chaplain in order to wear religious garb.

The sheriff’s office would not say whether this is still the practice.

Under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, state and local institutions can’t “place arbitrary or unnecessary restrictions on religious practice,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The DOJ cites several examples of religious freedom including diet, hair length, and religious texts. It does not specify head coverings.

The arrest

Zwiebel was driving in Coral Springs Nov. 15, 2018, when he was given a ticket for driving with a suspended license and driving without proof of insurance, court records show.

He went to court the day he was told, according to the lawsuit, but then said he never received a notice for the next hearing. A warrant was then issued for failure to appear at a March 6, 2019, hearing.

Then on April 25, 2019, Zwiebel was stopped in Coconut Creek because his brake light was out.

The body cam footage provided by Montgomery shows the entire encounter, including when the deputy brings Zwiebel to the main jail.

There the deputy puts on gloves and begins the process of getting Zwiebel ready for entering the jail.

“At all relevant times, Rabbi Zwiebel was wearing his religious head covering until being involuntarily forced to remove it and remained without any alternative cloth material, yarmulke, head covering throughout the remainder of his being held by Defendant,” the lawyer wrote in the suit.

He was there for 12 hours, and was not given his yarmulke back. Montgomery said without his head covering, Zwiebel was unable to pray, walk, eat or do anything without violating his religious beliefs.

“When it comes to fundamental rights like religion our constitution fiercely protects those rights,” Montgomery said.

Arrested again

On Oct. 21, Zwiebel was arrested again after a warrant was issued for the same reason.

Once again, Zwiebel was told to remove his yarmulke, video shows. He was told he could request it back at the chaplain’s office. Montgomery amended the suit shortly after to include this incident as well.

“Rabbi Zwiebel protested the removal of his religious head covering and even informed [the deputy] and BSO staff of the instant lawsuit,” the attorney wrote in the amended complaint.

Montgomery says they believe Zwiebel is not alone.

“We are seeing that this is a widespread, rampant and egregious act by BSO and they simply don’t care,” Montgomery said. “And because they treat the yarmulke with the same significance they would treat a baseball cap, what you have is a community that is being targeted. We are hoping with this litigation, BSO will change its policy.”